John Parr

Songwriter: Simon Lefevre Keith McFarlane John Parr

Producer: John Wolff

Destiny, I can hear freedom call
With these hands, we can tear down these walls

Ya gotta sing out loud, ya gotta sing out strong
Hes gonna soon be here, and it won't be long

You wanna change the world, you need a man with a vision, whoah
Got it all figured out, you need a man with a vision, whoah
And through his eyes, well see a better place tonight
The world will know his name, hes a man with a vision

Sixty four, fighting on distant shores
One man alone can stop this senseless war

He said, you gotta sing out loud, gotta sing out strong (sing out strong)
Hes gonna soon be here and it won't be long (it won't be long), yeah

You wanna change the world, you need a man with a vision, whoah
You got it all figured out, you need a man with a vision, whoah
And through his eyes, well see a better place tonight

What the hell are we fighting for - I saw the future in the eyes of a man
No-one ever gonna win this war - he said I have a dream
Come the day well live as one - it dont matter bout the colour of his skin
When everyman will be free - when every man can be free

You wanna change the world, you need a man with a vision, whoah
You got it all figured out, you need a man with a vision, whoah
Across the land, well see the fires burning bright
The world will know his name

You wanna change the world, you need a man with a vision, whoah
You got it all figured out, youre a man with a vision, whoah...

John Parr (born 18 November 1952) is a Grammy-nominated English musician, best known for his 1985 US #1 single “St. Elmo’s Fire (Man in Motion)” and for his 1984 single “Naughty Naughty” (US Rock #1). Parr was nominated for a Grammy award for “St Elmo’s Fire” in 1985.

Parr first entered the music scene when he was 12 years old and formed a band with two fellow schoolmates, which they named The Silence. The band had achieved some success. They eventually became professional and started to tour Europe. He then joined a band named Bitter Suite who were a huge success in the working men’s clubs in Yorkshire, he then formed a “Super Band” with musicians from other working men’s club bands, and named the band Ponders End , a band that set a new precedent for the bands in the north.

Parr secured a publishing deal with Carlin America in 1983 and in the same year Meat Loaf asked him to write some songs for his new album. It led to a fateful meeting with John Wolff, who was tour manager for The Who. Foreseeing the initial demise of The Who, Wolff was looking for a new venture and considered Parr to be a suitable partner. Parr first visited America in 1984 and worked with Meat Loaf on Bad Attitude. Meanwhile, Wolff secured Parr’s solo Atlantic recording deal in New York.

more tracks from the album

Man with a Vision

From the albums

Man with a Vision (1992)
Letter to America (2011)

John Parr popular songs

Man with a VisionJohn Parr

John Parr

Man with a Vision